The Department of Sanitation had a few updates this week, including a pause on recently enforced composting fines and updates on the commercial waste zone rollout. Here’s what you need to know:
Pause On Composting Fines
Just a few weeks after fines were set to be enforced on April 1st, the city has put a pause on most fines for failing to correctly compost waste.
Officially, the city suspended fines for smaller residential buildings until 2026. Buildings with 30 or fewer units will not be fined, but larger buildings that receive more than 4 warnings from the DSNY will face $100 fines.
Per the Council’s update, the “DSNY aims to expand education and outreach efforts through the end of the year before fully enforcing fines across all building sizes.” Per Eyewitness News, the Mayor added:
“Make no mistake: Composting continues to be mandatory in New York City. Through the end of the year, we will be distributing additional education materials and holding more community events about how to sort out waste.”
As a reminder, the DSNY hosts composting information sessions and shares resources for management teams here, on their website. We’ll keep you posted as enforcement evolves.
Commercial Waste Zone Rollout
What’s a Commercial Waste Zone, Again?
Commercial Waste Zones are geographic areas where specific, approved private carters (“awardees”) can be hired to collect waste from businesses. The program to transition to Commercial Waste Zones began a few years ago, and is currently rolling out across the city. The DSNY has more information on Waste Zones, including which zones properties are in, on their site.
What’s Happening Now?
The DSNY has proposed implementation dates for the Second and Third Commercial Waste Zones following the complete implementation of the first Zone in Queens Central.
Specifically, rollout timeframes for Bronx East and Bronx West Zones have been proposed:
- Customer sign-up begins 10/1/25
- Full implementation by 11/30/25
Awardees for Bronx East and West are as follows:
- Bronx East
- 5 Borough Waste Removal
- Action Carting Environmental Services Inc.
- Royal Waste Services, Inc.
- Bronx West
- Action Carding Environmental Services, Inc.
- Royal Waste Services, Inc.
- Recycle Track Systems NYC, LLC
A full list of Waste Zones and updated timelines can be found here, with the full list of awardees for each zone here. The city expects the full rollout to be complete by December 31, 2027.
The DSNY has proposed the above dates as part of the Commercial Waste Zone rule, and has scheduled a hearing for Friday, May 23rd. You can comment on the proposed rollout or find more information about attending the hearing here.
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